The Drive Africa experience was, for our family, the most unique travel experience we have ever had. To get behind the wheel of a Defender and take it out on a photo-safari in Kruger Park was an extraordinary treat we will never forget.

Classic Overland had the honor of shooting the Union Jack in front of the historic Manor House at Laborie Wine Estate South Africa. Laborie is very special to the founders of Classic Overland. It was the very first place where Stebin Horne and future brother in law and business partner, Gerhard du Toit, shared a drink, along with his two future sister in laws.

Classic Overland will begin building the “Greene Machine” in May starting with a complete restoration from the ground up. Every seal, every bearing, every nut and rivet is replaced. Clients work closely with Classic Overland to manage weekly progress and ensure the clients expectations are being met. From exterior design, to interior amenities, to overland accessories there is nothing that is overlooked in this meticulous process.

For most people today, January 29th, 2016, is just another day, but for the enthusiast of the Land Rover Defender today has a much more solemn meaning. The very last Land Rover Defender has rolled off the production line amid cheers and tears of 700 employees, ending 67 years of the 4×4 being made. Jaguar Land Rover has discontinued the famous off-road vehicle, which has been exported across the world. Although formal production ends for this iconic 4×4, we are proud to say that our work at Classic Overland is just beginning.

Spending time “Overlanding on Safari,” you learn over time that in the bush there are essentially two kinds of people: the kind that race from one group of parked cars to the next leaving a trail of dust a mile long, and the kind that creeps along at a snails pace allowing nature to surprise them as only she can. I was forced into the latter category through my South African in-laws who had been traveling on safari for multiple generations of Afrikaners since the establishment of the Dutch East India Company. After several trips with them, I began to appreciate the slow pace of Overlanding.

There is something ironic about sitting on a rock in the ocean at the tip of the Dark Continent where the African sun is so hot it’s forcing me to seek relief in the ocean, but the ocean is so cold the only thing I see swimming are penguins. Nowhere else on earth do these elements so dramatically collide.